I am happy to be here today at this Conference of the Project Directors of the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs).

It appears that all of India is present in this hall. I am told that Project Directors from every corner of the country, including the North Eastern States, have come for this Conference. This is an ideal occasion for a useful exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices. Ours is a vast country. The problems in one part are not necessarily the same in other parts. Hence, the solutions too will have to vary. Yet, while recognizing this diversity, it is possible – indeed, it is necessary – for you to evolve an overall common national perspective on rural development.

Aujaars of implementation

When my colleague, Minister of Rural Development Shri Shanta Kumar, came to invite me to this Conference, I said, “We have so many programmes and schemes for rural development. Both the Centre and State Governments allocate considerable budgetary resources for them. But please tell me, who is primarily responsible for their implementation? Where are your aujaars (instruments)?”

Shantakumarji promptly replied: “Our aujaars are the DRDA Project Directors, whom you’ll be meeting in this conference.”

By describing you as the main “Instruments of Implementation”, the Minister has no doubt paid a compliment to you. But the praise also increases the responsibility on you. And it enhances our expectation from you.

I would say that you are not merely “Project Directors”; if you do your job conscientiously and creatively, if you follow the cardinal principle of promoting people’s participation in all your developmental projects, you will become Directors of the Process of Transformation of Rural India.

Then you’ll not just remain “Instruments of Implementation”; you’ll become “Agents of Change”.

When I speak of “change”, I often ask myself why our dreams of change have not yet fully come true? Why our targets of national development so often elude realization?

It is not my contention that our country has not achieved much in socio-economic development. India’s progress is there for all to see. It makes us proud. Indeed, the world has begun to take serious note of the fact that the wheels of progress are now moving faster; and that India is on its way to becoming a major economic power in Asia and the world.

Nevertheless, even our feeling of pride in what we have achieved so far cannot hide the truth that India still lags behind in so many areas of development. And the sharpest contrast between the India that is marching forward, and the India that is moving very slowly, can be seen when we step out of our cities – with their wide roads and flyovers and shining buildings – to villages that remain deprived of even the most basic amenities of life.

Today when people talk of “connectivity” in cities, they mean “digital connectivity” – faster Internet, email on the mobile phone, etc. In contrast, in many villages, “connectivity” still means having a good, all-weather road that will help the villagers to take their goods to the nearest market or to take the patients in their midst to the nearest hospital. Shri Shantakumarji told me that there are still 1,60,000 villages and hamlets in our country that are unconnected.

A paradox: Cities are a part of the “Global Village”; Villages aren’t!

It is, indeed, a paradox that whereas our cities and towns have become a part of what is called “The Global Village” – the one inter-connected world created by modern technology and trade --, many of our villages are still far-removed from this “Global Village”.

Of course, no one can say that our villages are more or less as they were decades ago. No. In many parts of our country, villages too are developing rapidly, as engines of wealth creation, with good schools, roads, sanitation, etc. They are what some people have begun to call “Rurban” areas, and the best among them have the best of both the worlds. However, they do not represent the typical 21st century Indian village. The typical is still what the majority of Indian villages portray: a picture of underdevelopment and stagnation.

This urban-rural divide in India is growing, rather than lessening, with the passage of time. And it has two serious consequences. One, it is holding India’s progress back. After all, when a majority of our population that lives in our villages does not have the amenities for a decent living and opportunities for growth, the situation is bound to impact the country’s overall socio-economic development.

But the urban-rural divide is impacting development and the quality of life in urban areas, too. Poverty, overpopulation, and overstretched civic amenities in our cities are a direct result of rural stagnation. A slum dweller in a city is usually an uprooted villager, a shaming proof of the imbalances that have disfigured development in our country.

The more we think about this matter, the more we are reminded of how correct and far-sighted Gandhiji was. Just two days ago, we celebrated his birth anniversary. Many tributes were paid to him, and most of them stressed his message about communal harmony and national unity. That message, of course, is very relevant. But today I recall what he said about balanced rural-urban development.

Nearly seven decades ago, he wrote in his Harijan newspaper:

“It is profitless to find out whether the villages of India were always what they are today. If they were never better, it is a reflection upon the ancient culture in which we take so much pride. But if they were never better, how is it that they have survived centuries of decay which we see going around us… The task before every lover of the country is how to prevent this decay or, which is the same thing, how to reconstruct the villages of India so that it may be as easy for anyone to live in them as it is supposed to be in the cities. Indeed, it is the task of every patriot. It may be that the villages are beyond redemption, that rural civilization has had its day and that seven hundred thousand villages have to give place to seven hundred well-ordered cities. If such is to be India’s fate, even that won’t come in a day. It must take time.”

Today, generally speaking, we neither have well-ordered cities nor reconstructed and rejuvenated villages, offering reasonably good living conditions for all its inhabitants. This is because, after Independence, we did not attach high priority to agriculture, rural development and creation of productive employment for the youth in villages.

To change this sad reality is the task that confronts us all. And this has to be seen as one of the central tasks of our national development.

Rapid rural development: Key to 8% GDP growth rate

I am convinced that accelerated economic development, combined with socially and regional balanced development, is indispensable for fulfilling this task. Which is why, in the Tenth Plan, we have set the target of 8% annual GDP growth rate.

Rural development, driven mainly by the growth of agriculture and agro-industries, has to make a big contribution to achieving the 8% GDP growth rate. Accordingly, in the past four and a half years since our Government assumed office at the Centre, we have tried to strengthen all the key areas of rural development -- housing, road connectivity, drinking water supply, sanitation, land development and, above all, gainful rural employment aimed at creation of useful rural assets.

We have substantially increased the allocation for rural development. Today, this Ministry has the largest budget after the Ministry of Defence.

As you are aware, we have also launched many new programmes, which have received considerable support from the people.

Our dream is to see that no Indian goes to bed with a hungry stomach and without a roof over his or her head. Therefore, we have given a big boost to housing construction, with a target of 20 lakh new housing units each year. In rural housing, I am told that there has been good progress in achieving our target of building 13 lakh new housing units annually in rural areas. You are a good judge of the quality of construction of these houses.

Shri Shantakumarji, when he was the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, had inaugurated a new programme, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, which aimed at providing food security to the poorest of the poor families in our country. This programme is an example of how we want to integrate care and compassion for the underprivileged as the essential principles of our economic reforms.

Again, making good use of the record food surpluses produced by our hard-working farmers, we have launched the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana, based on the Food-for-Work principle, with an allocation of Rs. 10,000 crore. Half of this allocation is in the form of foodgrains. Is this scheme being properly implemented? Is it, as we have envisaged, resulting in the creation of durable and useful community assets?

Take the other major rural development initiative -- the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. With a projected investment of Rs. 60,000 crore, it is perhaps the most ambitious rural infrastructure project since Independence. Before 2007 we are committed to providing all-weather road connectivity to all the unconnected villages with a population above 500.

This project is now under implementation. The money for the first two years has already been disbursed to the States.

I am aware that we need to considerably increase the allocation of resources if the targets are to be met in time. The Government will indeed raise additional resources. This is our firm commitment.

At the same time, I must voice two concerns here, based on the feedback I have received. In many States, I am told, most of the money is being used not for building roads to unconnected villages but for improving existing roads. Secondly, in some places, not sufficient attention is being paid to the quality of road construction. If this happens, the roads under this new project could meet the same sad fate as that suffered by rural roads in many places in the past.

It is your responsibility, as Project Directors of DRDA, to ensure that these weaknesses are removed and this great project that we have launched actually results in model roads that help transform life in our hitherto unconnected villages.

Make Water Conservation a People’s Movement

Scarcity of water – drinking water, water for cattle, and water for agriculture – has emerged as one of the gravest problems before our rural people in many parts of the country. Although the arrival of late rains has somewhat allayed the fears of a widespread drought this year, the challenge still remains a daunting one. We should not wait till the problem assumes crisis proportions. We must act now. I once again appeal to one and all to make water conservation a mass movement

You are aware that in my Independence Day address, I had said that the Government would soon launch a new programme – Pradhan Mantri Grameen Jal Samvardhan Yojana. A task force has been working out its modalities and it would be launched before the end of this year.

I had also announced that one lakh hand pumps would be installed in rural areas; one lakh traditional sources of water would be revived; and one lakh rural schools would be provided with drinking water facilities. This, too, would begin to be implemented before the end of this fiscal year.

I am told that the beneficiaries will contribute 10 % the cost in this participative scheme. We should encourage the people to pay for at least a part of the cost in more and more of our programmes. Indeed, the people are generally willing to pay, provided they know that the project would be implemented properly.

This contributory model helps in enhancing the level of awareness about the schemes; promoting transparency in their implementation; encouraging people’s partnership in the development process; and ensuring accountability through social audit.

There is no need for me to mention all the schemes and programmes that we have launched, or that we have inherited from the previous governments. We have no dearth of programmes. And these programmes are not starving of funds, although a good case can be made for providing more resources for them.

But what I am concerned about – and what the common people are concerned about – is the implementation of these programmes. The concern is whether the money made available is spent – and spent properly – or is eaten up in corruption. The concern is whether the programmes benefit the targeted beneficiaries -- especially the poor, the SCs and STs – or are hijacked by the rich and the powerful.

These concerns can be removed if you Project Directors, as the main Instruments of Implementation at the district level, do your job with enthusiasm and commitment.

Be pro-active in promoting People’s Participation

I wish to underscore two much-neglected imperatives in effective implementation. One is people’s participation. And the other is the involvement of people’s elected representatives.

We now have a wealth of evidence that shows that no developmental initiative of the government can fully succeed without people’s participation. We also have hundreds of examples of how dedicated non-governmental organizations working in areas of watershed development, afforestation, education, health care, sanitation, etc., have achieved commendable results. And where these NGOs have worked in close cooperation with governmental agencies, their achievements have been even more remarkable.

I would, therefore, urge you to proactively encourage non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations to participate in the implementation of your various programmes and projects.

As district-level officers, you must ensure that rural development programmes are strongly linked to the aspirations of the people. The Panchayati Raj Institutions should be fully involved in the planning and implementation of the programmes. At the village level, you should encourage the Gram Sabha to convene itself regularly to discuss and decide issues relating to the government’s rural development programmes.

One area where peoples’ participation can be strongly forged is the Self-Help Groups. The Self-Help Group approach has the advantage of focussing on the needs of the rural poor and also harnessing their potential through working closely with them. This in turn enables the poor to participate fully and directly and take decisions on all issues affecting them.

On August 15th last year, I had announced that 14 lakh Self-Help Groups would be formed by the year 2004. I am happy that about 9.50 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) have been formed so far and that over 30 lakh Swarozgaris have already been assisted. The Self-Help Groups, with their focus on women, can be a powerful force for social transformation.

Constitutional Amendment for empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions

Experience has taught us another important, albeit self-evident lesson, which leaders like Gandhiji, Jayprakash Narayan, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and others had advocated all along. And that is the imperative of democratic decentralization for speedy and healthy development.

The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution, which empowered the Panchayati Raj Institutions, were a historic step in democratic decentralization. This year, 2002, marks its tenth anniversary and we naturally recall the enthusiasm of the late Rajiv Gandhi in taking this measure.

However, experience has shown that without adequate administrative and financial powers, Panchayati Raj Institutions are unable to discharge the new responsibilities cast on them. Recently, in April 2002, the Ministry of Rural Development had organized an All India Panchayat Adhyakshas Sammelan, which unanimously passed a resolution urging the Government to introduce a new Constitutional Amendment to empower the Panchayati Raj Institutions with much-needed administrative and financial powers.

I would like the forthcoming Winter Session of Parliament to suitably mark the 10th anniversary of the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution and also to debate the desirability of a new Constitutional Amendment. If all the political parties agree, the Ministries of Rural Development, Finance and Law will together work out a draft Amendment.

In conclusion, let me encapsulate the essential thought:

For strong India, let us make our villages strong.

For prosperous India, let us make our villages prosperous.

For self-confident India, let us make our villages self-confident

And in mission, Dear Project Directors, you have a major responsibility.

I wish you and this Conference all the very best.

Thank you.

Quotation:

Today when people talk of ~connectivity~ in cities, they mean ~digital connectivity~ – faster Internet, email on the mobile phone, etc. In contrast, in many villages, ~connectivity~ still means having a good, all-weather road that will help the villagers to take their goods to the nearest market or to take the patients in their midst to the nearest hospital. I am told that there are still 1,60,000 villages and hamlets in our country that are unconnected by good roads.

It is, indeed, a paradox that whereas our cities and towns have become a part of what is called ~The Global Village~ – the one inter-connected world created by modern technology and trade --, many of our villages are still far-removed from this ~Global Village~.